Air conditioning apparatus



Jam-1, 1935. s. M NDERsoN. I 1,935,910

- AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Sept. '1, 19:54 2 Sheets-Shea 1 zzzzzzzzzzzzzsssssss sssss' s [Wm/10R --5 AMUEL M. Amazespm' "Mafi -"TQ Patented Jan. 1,1935 I Am oonnmosmo Samuel M. Anderso SMH'"W orto B. F. Sturtevant Company, Inc., Boston, Mass.

Application September 7, 1934, Serial No. 743,050

j 4 Claims. 01. 257-7) This invention relates to the air conditioning of passenger vehicles, and relates more particularly to combined heating and cooling apparatus for railway passenger cars in which spray coolers are employed.

In most air conditioning installations on railway passenger cars, extended surface coils in which a refrigerant is usually expanded, are used for cooling air. While such coils are efiective in cooling the air, they are objectionable because they and their associated filters do not remove the undesired odors imparted to the recirculated air from various sources within the car. In fact, it has been demonstrated that the cooling coils are instrumental in adding odors to the conditioned air due to the precipitation upon their surfaces of vegetable organisms in the moisture condensed from the air. These organisms, after a period of time, build up upon the coils in thick layers of green slime, which are difllcult to remove and which have an unpleasant odor.

According to this invention, a spray or washer type cooler and dehumidifier is used forcooling the air in summer weather. A finely divided water spray is projected within the conditioning chamber, which spray washes and cleanses the air in addition to lowering its temperature and moisture content. Through the use of such a cooler, such foreign materials and vapors which pass through the ordinary filters are removed from the air, with the result that the conditioned air is free from objectionable odors and imparts a:

more pleasant sensation to'those within the passenger space. It has been remarked that air so cooled ismore comfortable due to the absence of the cold, clammy feeling imparted to the air cooled by surface coolers.

According to a feature of this invention, the cold water returned from the spray within the air conditioning unit is circulated through a precooler coil which may be mounted in the path of the spray. This pre-cooler coil serves, as will be explained in more detail later in connection with the drawings, to more effectively cool the air by making use of the cold energy remaining in the water collected from the spray.

According to another feature of this invention,

' the air conditioning unit comprises a fan, heating coil, filter, pre-coolingcoil, spray cooler, filter and moisture eliminator arranged with the air flow through the unit, crosswise the car.

According to another feature of the invention,

the filters are removable through openings in a wall in the air conditioning chamber, and the openings are normally sealed to prevent the escape of moisture from the chamber by removable doors having a rubber lining vulcanized thereto around the four sides, and which contacts with the walls of the chamber, the doors being normally clamped tightly against the walls of the chamber with the vulcanized rubber serving effectively as a gasket.

An object of the invention is to provide an air conditioning unit utilizing a spray cooler for a passenger vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to pro ide a spray main cooler and a coil pre-cooler in an air conditioning chamber for a passenger vehicle.

, Another object of the invention is to place a coil pre-cooler in the path of the spray water from a main spray cooler in an air conditioning chamber for a passenger vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to draw outside and recirculate air into one end of an air conditioning unit arranged crosswise a"railway passenger car, and to discharge the conditioned .air from the other side of the unit into a longi- ,vention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of theapparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating arrangements for the supply of cold water to the spray unit of the apparatus;

4 is an enlarged plan view of the doors provided for access to the filters of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 5-==5 of Fig.4.

Ordinarily the working apparatus ofan airconditioning unit installed in a railway passenger car is arranged in series relationship longitudinally of the car,- but, according to this invention,

as will now be described in connection wlththe drawings, the working apparatus is arranged in series crosswise the car. This enables a spray chamber of sufllcient size to be placed in the space available in a car without extending over the 7 passenger space.

The installation shown by Figs. 1, 2 and 3 comprises the recirculating air inlet 6 arranged to one side of the car and feeding into one end of the air conditioning unit. Fresh air .is drawn surface heating coils 15, through which, in

The air from the fan then enters the spray chamber 14 and passes first over the extended winter, steam is passed to heat the air to be conditioned. The air next passes through the removable fllter 16, then past the pre-cooler coils 1'1, and then through the area 18 in which water spray from the nozzles 19 is projected. The air next passes through the removable filter 20, then through the eliminators 21 for the elimination of entrained moisture, and thence through the discharge outlet 22 into the longitudinal distribution duct 23.

The sump 24 of the spray chamber is provided with the plurality of splash baiiies 25, which are provided to prevent accumulative waves within the sump during movement of the car. The sump is also provided with the overflow outlet 26, the spray water recirculation outlet 27, and the outlet 28 for the water which is circulated through the pre-cooler coils 1'1.

The filters 16 and 20 are adapted to be removed through the access doors 29 which are attached to the walls of the spray chamber by means of the wing nuts 30 and their associated bolts. Filter doors 29 will be described in more detail later with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. 1

Referring now to Fig. 3, the operation of the apparatus in summer weather will now be described. Spray water returned from the sump 24 of the spray chamber 14 is sprayed through a plurality of nozzles 32 on cakes of ice 33 contained withinthe ice bin 31. In the melting action of the ice, heat is absorbed from the spray water, and the water thus chilled is forced by the pump 34 through the pipe line 85 tov the spray nozzles 19 which project the cold spray within the space 18, within the spray chamber, and onto the surfaces of the pre-cooler coils 1'7. The main body of spray water collected in the sump 24 is returned through a pipe 36 to the spray nozzles 32.

Ice in the bin 31 adds, through its melting action, additional water to the circulating system. To prevent an excess of water, this additional water is normally drained from the ice bin to the tracks. Since, were the ice water drained directly from the bin to the tracks, an appreciable amount of cold energy would be thrown away, so to speak, provision is made for recovering this cold energy by drawing from the sump 24, through the pipe 28, an amount of water equal normally to that added to the system by the melting ice. This water is forced by the pump 37, driven by electric motor 38, through the pipe 39, to and through the pro-cooler coils 17, and

' passes from the pre-cooler coils through the pipe 40, from whence it is drained to the tracks, its cold energy having been made use of in pre-cooling in air passing into the spray chamber 14.

In cold weather, steam is circulated through the steam coils 15, and the spray nozzles 19 may be supplied with water from the bin 31 formcreasing the relative humidity of the heated air, in which case, of course, no ice would be used in the spray bin.

The iilter 16 is provided to collect cinders and other foreign matter which it is not desired be 1,ese,oio

collected by the spray water in the spray chamber 14. The filter 20 and eliminator 31 are provided to complete the filtering of the conditioned air and to prevent the passage of air with any entrained moisture into the passenger space.

In operation, it becomes necessary to remove the filters 16 and 20 at intervals in order that they may be replaced by new or cleansed ones, and heretofore the problem of preventing the passage of moisture from a spray chamber with easily removed doors has been troublesome. Attempts were made to cement rubber strips to the doors with holes then drilled through the rubber and plate, with bolts and rivets passed through the holes to secure the plate to a wall of the spray chamber. -But, it was found that the heads of the rivets or bolts always protruded above the rubber surface and prevented a proper seal against moisture when the door was tightly clamped. Finally, it was decided tovulcanize the rubber lining completely around the border of the access doors, the holding and adjusting nuts being placed outside the rubber lining area, the rubber serving merely as a gasket. This was found to be completely successful, the doors being easily removable, and no moisture leaking from the spray chamber during operation.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, the doors 29 have the rubber strips 41 vulcanized completely around their four sides, the linings 41 lining up with the edges of the openings 45, through which the filters are insertedand removed. The bolts 42 on which the wing nuts 30 are screwed. extend through the doors 29 and the walls 46 of the spray chamber, and are located outside the area in which the rubber linings -;1 are Vulcanized. The members 43, welded to the doors 29, serve to provide a flush surface for the door mountings, and also serve to enable the doors to be easily and quickly lined up when being mounted. The handles 44 are also welded to the doors 29.

With this arrangement of doors, no rivets or bolts extend through the rubber linings, with the result that the rubber linings themselves are in tight contact with the members 46, completely around the doors.

By having the spray water from the nozzles 19 play upon the surfaces of the pre-cooler coils 17, the coils are kept free from the collection of vegetable organisms or other undesired foreign matter, and it is contemplated that chemicals may be added to the spray water for the purpose of preventing the deposit and building up of foreign matter upon the surface of the coils, and to assist in removing undesired odors and vapors from the air being conditioned.

Whereas one embodiment of the invention has been described for the purpose of illustration, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the details described, since many modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Air conditioning apparatus for a passenger vehicle, comprising an air conditioning compartment having an air inlet and a spray cooler, means for circulating a cooling medium to said compartment to be sprayed therein, an air filter in said compartment between the air inlet thereof and said cooler, means for passing air to said compartment and for discharging it into the passenger space of said vehicle, means for removing and replacing said filter through the floor of said compartment, and means for rendering said last mentioned means moisture-proof when said filter is in place.

2. Air conditioning apparatus for a passenger vehicle, comprising an air conditioning compartment having an air inlet and a spray cooler, means for circulating a cooling medium to said compartment to be sprayed therein, an air heating coil in said compartment, a filter between said coil and said spray cooler, means for passing air to said compartment and for discharging it into the passenger space of said vehicle, means for removing and replacing said filter through a wall of said compartment, and means torrendering said last mentioned means moisture-proof when said filter is in place.

3. Air conditioning apparatus for a passenger vehicle, comprising an air conditioning compartment having an air inlet and a spray cooler, means for circulating a cooling medium to said compartment to be sprayed therein, an air heating coil in said compartment, a pre-cooler coil in said compartment, 'afilter between said coils,

means for passing air to said compartment and for discharging it into the passenger space of said vehicle, means for removing and replacing said filter through a wall of said compartment, and means for rendering said last mentioned means moisture-proof when said filter is in place.

4. Air conditioning apparatus for a passenger vehicle, comprising an air conditioning compartment having an air inlet and a spray cooler, means for circulating a cooling medium to said compartment to be sprayed therein, an air heating coil in said compartment, a y -cooler coil in said compartment, a'moisture eliminator in the output side oi said compartment, a. filter between said coils, a second filter between said spray cooler and said eliminator, means for passing air to .said compartment and for discharging it into the.

passenger space of said vehicle, means ior removing and replacing said filters through a wall of said compartment, and means for rendering said last mentioned means moisture-proof when said filters are in place. v

I SAMUEL M. ANDERSON. 

